Mitch is damn good at this, he is not going to show his hand. He is correct that there is a not a lot of room to be active in the trade market, but we all know that he wants to do something with Pau. I would be shocked if something does not happy to shake things up.

I am not asking for a reaction based freak out, but Pau has needed to go for a while now and his value sinks each day. Mitch has weaved magic in the past, the Lakers certainly need it again now.

The season has been a complete disaster, I understand injuries hurt, but this team as currently constructed, is not going to win a damn thing.

"We don't have many options," Kupchak said Wednesday at the Lakers All-Access event at Staples Center, hosted by the LA Sports & Entertainment Commission. "It's not like we're going to be active or overly active in the trade market."

In your opinion is this Pau Gasol, "trade him or not trade him" drama becoming to much of a detriment for this team to overcome? Its been like this ever since the 2011 playoffs when Pau totally disappeared (rumors say over a girl but nothing was ever set in stone). You could even argue the 2010 playoffs when Pau was AWFUL every single road game almost besides the Utah Jazz series.

Me personally I've gotten to the point where I realize the guy has lost 2 steps (not 1 yes 2) and we have to move him. I think the biggest issue with the team now (beside defense of course) has been chemistry. It only makes sense to move him for a package of role players (athletic, shooters, and a speedy PG) so we can add more depth to the team and spread the court for Nash,Kobe, and Dwight. Watching every game this year teams are just telling there PF to run as soon as they secure the rebound and then they throw that lead pass while Pau is 2 steps behind his man. With this coaching hire and also with us already having the best big in the NBA in Dwight finishing at the rim we know Pau isnt gonna be the focal point in the post anymore and is expendable.

Trust this is coming from a guy that has been a Pau apologist for years. But the guy cant even hold post position against these undersized PF's. Gets killed on the Pick n roll defense. Doesn't seem comfortable taking that open jumper at the top of the key so other teams dont even honor him. He's a backup Center at best on this team and at 17mill a season I think it be better for both parties to move on. We've used Pau as the scapegoat for to long but I cant watch another minute of a playoff series against OKC where Serge Ibaka is cheating off of him to help over on Dwight in the paint because Pau isnt knocking down that open jumper. We got Clark and Jamison at this point to handle the PF position. I wouldnt mind us bringing in Kmart and/or Delonte West also (Morris is so out of control 80% of the time to me)

Just my opinion...Thoughts fellas?

Yeah..with Pau pouting..scoring 12+, slacking on D and about to be near $20 mill next year..including trade kicker...the Lakers will find it a challenge to just find a taker...even if LAL just gets back fillers. There might be 4-5 teams LAL can find ANYTHING with..and none of those deals will give LAL anything they really want. Meanwhile, Artest can't be traded for a warm beer and Kobe pretty much can't be traded. None of the bench guys adds up to much. The one who might have some worth...Hill....is hurt for the year.

The Lakers seemed sure to keep Dwight...but...that's not so certain when the Lakers ain't as good as Houston, Portland. The Lakers big plan...backfired. I assume they intend to rebuild around Dwight but it may be only once the old guys expire and go that they begin

Run-MKE 311 wrote:Mitch is damn good at this, he is not going to show his hand. He is correct that there is a not a lot of room to be active in the trade market, but we all know that he wants to do something with Pau. I would be shocked if something does not happy to shake things up.

I am not asking for a reaction based freak out, but Pau has needed to go for a while now and his value sinks each day. Mitch has weaved magic in the past, the Lakers certainly need it again now.

The season has been a complete disaster, I understand injuries hurt, but this team as currently constructed, is not going to win a damn thing.

I agree with this. But here's my opinion, Mitch and Jim have their eyes on 2014 and 2015 class of free agents, but why put all the eggs in one basket waiting for that free agent class? We should focus on winning now. But We have the great Superstars Kobe, and Dwight... Alongside great core players in Metta, and Nash. Also great talent in Hill (i know he hurt), Clark. Now we need to fill the rest of the roster out with players that compliment their games, will rebound and play SOLID DEFENSE. Guys that wont pout when their only shooting 3-5 times in a game. This roster has to many names on it in my opinion. Pau recently has been a big culprit of that. It's not hard to see that he doesn't really like/or can get comfortable being the 3rd/4th option on this team

Its pretty obvious, we NEED to get younger. We have needed to get younger for ages.

The league right now is full of athletic youngsters who are full of energy, whilst we are stuck in the past with our old legs.

I'd be happy to trade anyone other than Kobe for some younger talent. Marshon Brooks is a guy I would like to see on this team, has the potential to be a big time scorer and is rotting away on Brooklyn's bench. We wouldn't have to give up much to get him I'd imagine.

1. Fire Mike 'Antoni - This is just unrealistic from a business perspective. You've just given him a 3-year guarantee contract. You've gotta let him finish his contract before letting him go. Don't give free money.

2. Rebuilding around Dwight - Again, this is just unrealistic. You don't rebuild a team around a 27-year old. If anything, I would trade him for a least 2 first round draft picks.

3. Limit Kobe's minutes - This is a must. You don't play 40 minutes night in & out with a 34-year old body. Guy is tired.

dunleavyjr wrote:1. Fire Mike 'Antoni - This is just unrealistic from a business perspective. You've just given him a 3-year guarantee contract. You've gotta let him finish his contract before letting him go. Don't give free money.

2. Rebuilding around Dwight - Again, this is just unrealistic. You don't rebuild a team around a 27-year old. If anything, I would trade him for a least 2 first round draft picks.

3. Limit Kobe's minutes - This is a must. You don't play 40 minutes night in & out with a 34-year old body. Guy is tired.

I agree with number 3 definitely. Kobe looked exhausted out there in the 4th quarter, could barely keep his hands up on defense. Not all his fault though.

There's honestly too many problems with the team right now: defense, bench, age (speed/athleticism/energy), floor spacing, and chemistry.

The root of the problems is the roster but there's not much that can be done. I love your trade idea TruSkool but no team is going to rent Howard for half a year without a commitment of him resigning. If he's able to get back to 100%, we wouldn't want to lose him anyway. I don't see the management moving Pau either since it's going to ruin the 2014 cap space. The most probable options are trading Hill or Clark for some athletic wings.

I would definitely fire Pringles right now. He has no defensive scheme whatsoever and his system does not make up for that. I don't like Brown but we would have been better off keeping him. With TOs aside, the offense was starting to click and the defense would have improved under him. At least he gave a **** about defense. Some of his rotations were questionable but D'antoni is having rotation issues too.

Like dunleavyjr mentioned, it's unlikely we fire MDA and have two ex-coaches on the payroll but if this season turns out to be a bust, the chances of us losing Howard are a lot higher. Things aren't going to get better under MDA.

1. Fire D'antoni.2. If we can't find a good replacement, ride Bernie for the rest of the season.3. Sign Delonte West.4. Get younger, faster, more athletic players.5. Get better shooters.